


Snake in the Grass (Now and Never Again)

by orphan_account



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Childhood, Fluff, Gen, Prompt Fill, The Imagination Room (Sanders Sides), and platonic love is beautiful, he is romulus, just fluff my friends, no romantic relationships bc they're kids, original creativity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25524478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Fill for the Sanders Sides subreddit prompt- 'Snake in the grass', with Janus and the theme of Childhood.When Janus first formed, he was much more of a snake than he is now. None other than the King himself finds him curled up in the imagination, and what happens next? Well, that's best left for them to decide.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Original Creativity | Romulus "The King" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Snake in the Grass (Now and Never Again)

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh, I love writing Romulus. This is the first time reading my own writing has put such a smile on my face in a while- I hope you enjoy!

Romulus was curious.

He thrived off of discovery, often spending hours on end in the Mind trying to work through dilemmas. Brains would usually lift his nose and tell him that he’d gotten it wrong in the end, but that wasn’t the point! It was the thrill of the hunt and the catch that made Romulus’ heart race and hands sing. What if red things would make Thomas catch on fire? Red was such a pretty color. Safety didn’t seem to like that thought, but Safety was a stinky pants who didn’t like Disney, so Romulus wasn’t too torn up about his opinion of him.

Besides, whenever he did get it right Brains got so happy! He remembered exactly when he had first figured out that the little red light above the magic moving doors was a (what had Brains called it? A sen-zor?) thing that tracked you, and that’s how the door knew to open. Brains had smiled really big and started lecturing about how Thomas’ dad said fairies controlled the doors.

Romulus loved to watch Brains talk, even if he didn’t fully understand everything the other said.

But that was him getting sidetracked again (Feelings said he did that too much). The point was, Romulus was always trying to work problems out. He would stretch Thomas’ mind, going farther than Brains said that he should, just to find the next thing that they could do.

This led to him eventually finding his own little space. It was tucked right behind Brain’s library, and above Safety’s little alcove. It had started out small, but grew really fast- it was probably really ginormous by now! Maybe even a mile!

Romulus adored his new space, and the other sides (Romy had come up with that name himself. “Like sides of a block!” he’d proclaimed, pointing at Thomas’ favorite toy. Brains had tried to point out that blocks had six sides, not four, but Romy had countered with the fact that he was big enough to cover three on his own) adored that he wasn’t trashing the Head where they all ate and slept.

Of course, nothing in life is perfect (Feelings had been quoting that solemnly for weeks after first hearing it, always trying to look stoic and wise before breaking down in giggles), and that included the Imagination. Because, as much as Romy wished it to be, there was nothing else.  
There was nothing besides what he wanted. He could create anything out of thin air, but he always had to think of it first! It was nothing like the real world, where Thomas was always discovering new things. Romy wanted the Imagination to surprise him, to give him something new- but it was only as creative as he was.

Realizing that was the first time Romulus insulted himself.

Romy was pondering his limitations once again, sitting in the imagination, when it happened. He’d been humming to to himself- a tune that Thomas’ mom always sang him to sleep with. He absentmindedly ripped out some of the blades of grass, shredding each piece before moving on to another clump.

He could make the grass grow into a field of flowers if he wanted. He could make them bloom into a castle, made just of flowers! That would be so cool, even Feelings would love it! Feelings didn’t like everything he made, but Romy wasn’t mad. Feelings couldn’t help being lame, just like Safety couldn’t help being a scaredy-cat. What if the flowers had thick thorns, wound together, and that’s how the palace kept standing. He’d always wondered how houses kept upright- maybe they had flowers in the walls! He would have to suggest that to Thomas later.

He was getting off-topic again! Romy was trying to tell a story, but it wasn’t working! He threw down the handful of grass he was clutching, and stood up with a grunt of disdain. Stupid grass. Stupid feelings. Stupid Romy.

“You shou’ know better. Teacher says so, Romy. Come on.” he said to himself. “You gotta do better.” He tried to mimic the stern voice of Thomas’ preschool teacher, but only succeeding in making his childish lisp more prominent. He pouted, and tried again. “Do better! Not good enough yet!”

“L-Lie.”

Romulus whirled around. Nobody else was supposed to be able to get into the Imagination, Brains said so! Did Safety come in here? No, his voice was lower. But it was still too high to belong to Feelings. “Who sai’ that?” He kept turning back and forth, like he could force the weird voice to show itself. “Come out, foul fiend!” There, that sounded kingly enough.

But instead of being terrifying, his dramatic proclamation only made the voice giggle. “’m down here.” Sure enough, when Romulus lowered his gaze, he saw an identical figure curled up in the grass.

“Oh, hi! Are you a new side? Like Brains, a-” When had Brains arrived? Romy couldn’t remember, it wasn’t his job to remember things. “A long time ago?”  
The figure uncurled a little. “Yeah, I think so. That sounds right.”

“Yay! What do you do?” Romulus asked, but then cut in before the new side could answer. “Wait, what did you mean, lie? I don’t lie! I act.”

The side giggled again, but this time it was lower. “What’s the difference, silly? Anyways, that wasn’ acting. You lied.”

Romulus scoffed. “A king doesn’t lie! He doesn’t need to. He just cuts off the heads of everybody who questions him!”

“And what if he’s wrong to do tha’? Why does he get to choose?”

He didn’t have anything to say to that. So he just pouted. “You still haven’t told me who you are. That isn’t fair.”

“I’m… I keep Thomas safe, I think. That feels right.”

“That’s ridiculous. Safety does that!”

“Well, I also gotta get him what he wants! So there.”

“No, I do that! I’m all his…” Romulus scrunched up his nose. “Thoughts and sleeps? I don’t remember what Feelings said. But it doesn’t matter! You need to get your own function, instead of stealing ours. You’re the one lying now.”

The side curled in on himself more. “NO!”

“What? I’m just telling the truth.”

“No you’re not! I’m not like Fear, and I’m not like you!”

“Who’s Fear?” Romy said, caught off guard once again. “Is there another new side?”

“The… the purple one. Purple-grey. Or maybe just grey.” There was a hint of uncertainty in the side’s voice for the first time, but Romulus didn’t relish in it like he might’ve thought he would.

“There’s no purple side, and the only grey side is Safety.”

The new side looked up, and for the first time, Romy could see his face. He drew in a breath. Instead of smooth skin, the side had greenish-brown scales covering his entire face and neck. Despite the thick, long-sleeved outfit, he had the feeling that the scales covered his entire body. His pupils were slits, ringed with yellow, and there were lines on both sides of his mouth outlining where a snake mouth would be.

“Lie. Safety‘s gone. It’s just me and Fear now.”

Part of Romulus wanted to ask how that could happen. Could any side do that? Could he also get split apart? No, he was too valuable for that. The entire world loved Creativity- there was no way he would ever get stifled, like, say, stupid Safety. But most of him started to cry.

“W-why? Did you kill him, and cut him in half, and eat up one of them-”

“No!” The other side (Safety? Saf? Ety?) interrupted. “I think Fear is still Safety. At least mostly. But he didn’t like lying.” His face fell. “So now I’m here.”

“Aha!” Thoroughly soothed by the knowledge that Sa- that Fear was fine, Romulus jumped on this new chance. “So you are lying! I knew it!”

The new side’s face twisted in irritation, before his eyes widened. “Huh. Maybe I am. Tha’ would make sense.”

“Soo….. Lying?”

The snake in the grass smiled up at him. “Lying.”

They stared at each other for a moment, basking in the peace of the revelation. Until Romy stuck his tongue out, and Lying hissed at him, and then Romulus doubled over with laughter.

He gave up his fight with gravity, lying next to Lying (that sounded cool!) on the ground and poking his cheek. “Ha! You’re a snake. Hissy wittle snake.” The scales were surprisingly smooth, and he ran his finger across them.

“Am not!” Lying hissed again, but then slapped a hand over his mouth. “Gah!”

Romulus could barely breathe from laughter. “See? Snake.”

“Shut up.”

“You can’t make me!”

“I’ll figure it out.” The snake rolled over and stared up at the sky, which was beginning to darken. “I will.”

“Sure, snakey.” Romy edged over until his side was pressed against Lying’s, and joined him at staring into the unknown above them.

Well, unknown for Lying. Romulus controlled all of it. He quickly changed the sky so that it was full of stars and planets (just like Brains liked it). Lying didn’t say anything, but a small grin spread across his scaled cheeks.

They lay like that for a long time. Eventually, something occurred to him. “What did you think I was lying about, earlier? Not that I was. I don’t lie.”  
Lying turned his head to face him. Their shared wispy hair framed his faced, and the moonlight made his snake eyes look ethereal. “You said you had to be better. But that’s not true. You’re Creativity, right?”

“Romulus.”

“You’re Romulus. Why would you need to change anything?”

There was no derision in the snake’s eyes, just curiosity, and Romulus saw himself in the slitted pupils.  
“I guess you’re right.” His cheeks hurt from smiling, but he didn’t want to stop.

Lying rolled over. “I always am. Goofy.”

Soon, they would have to leave the Imagination. They would have to explain why Safety was now Fear, why the new side was so odd and snake-like.

Farther in the future, Romulus would cease to be. Roman and Remus would come into being, both knowing that they trusted Lying- now Deceit- but not sure exactly why. Feelings, now Morality, would clash with Deceit more and more, until they agreed that it would be better for Thomas if they just stayed apart.

Roman would grow insecure without his most supportive friend. Remus would feel inadequate, for not being the side that Janus remembered. Janus and Patton would grow bitter, and start becoming more manipulative- both in their own ways.

Janus would sit in the grass of the Imagination, remembering a side that could never come back.

But that doesn’t matter, does it?

Because in that moment, there was a King and his snake in the grass.

The rest should be left to the future for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are appreciated, any sort of comments are appreciated, all of you wonderful people out there are appreciated.


End file.
